The Boat

Well yesterday was the day of truth, the pumps had come back fro Midwest Fuel Injection in Bolongbrook, Il and it was time to see if that in fact had been the cause of the surging problem. So Mark Davis the diesel man down here in Demopolis and I went on a boat ride. The boat ran exceptionally well. We went up the Black Warrior River several miles running the boat at different rpm s so as to try every speed for a period of time. The boat never surged once and was very smooth. This BW river is really something. Beautiful places to anchor, fifty feet deep most of the way, and very peaceful and secluded. Gorgeous, gorgeous,gorgeous. The boat is a 42 foot Jefferson with two state rooms with heads in each, a living salon, a galley, an aft deck and a fly bridge, and a large bow area on the front. I really should not say on the front, for that is not a boat term.......some boating language I will get into in a future posting. The boat has two Cummins engines that are 5.9s. The boat cruises very comfortably at apx 8 to 10 knots, it will cruise at 20 to 25 knots comfortably and very expensive. The fuel tanks of which there are two each hold 175 gal of diesel fuel. This is a total of 350 gallons at apx 3.00 dollars a gallon so there you go....fill er up for apx 1050 dollars...the good news is that will last all summer.. we get 2 miles to the gallon...so 700 miles...that is a nice summers travel...thanx again for checking in Tom

Plans

I will be here the rest of this week working on the boat. Right now it is just Peanut the dog and me. Jan or Mrs Hines as her students know her will be here next Monday and we have some exciting plans popping up for us to do before we head up the TTB and onto the Tenn River headed to Chatta andKnoxville. The TTB designation will always be for the Tenn Tom Bigbie Waterway. The plans include a free iol spill concert by Jimmy Buffett on the beach at Gulf Shores to benefit the area of the disaster. I guess famous entertainers from country music to New Orleans jazz musicians are signing on. Just an attempt to get people to come down there. We are also going to anchor out at least one night to try and sharpen or refresh our anchoring skills. I will talk more about the five to one ratio at another time. We are also planning a quick trip up the Black Warrior River before we head to the Tenn River. The W leave Birmingham comes thru Tuscaloosa past the Univ of Al and empties into the TTB right here at Demopolis. Final plan so far to do here is on the FOURTH of JULY when the owner of the restaurant on site is planning a big hoopla up the river at Rattle Snake Bend. Complete with refreshments and food and three bands playing in the sand on a beach there. So we are excited so much to do before we ever leave Demopolis. Thanx for reading and following along. Sincerely Tom. PS those of you who know we had surging problems with the starboard cummins diesel engine the two pumps have been repaired by Ben Seidel in Chicago and installed in the boat for a test run today...YAHOO...Thanx Ben

Getting ready for the annual summer boat trip

I have been here at Demopolis in Al for a week or more and to say it has been hot would be an under statement. We have had over 100 degree days every day. Gets so hot you have to work inside the boat in the afternoon for it is too hot outside. Thank goodness for the A C. I want to catch up on the jobs I have been working on since my arrival but I am not going to list them all. It has been fun for me for I like to tinker and keep busy. I go to Walmart once a week and I do my laundry once a week and the majority of the time I am working on the boat. A boat is like a house there is always work to be done. Boatng is not just fun and games all the time it is like most things-a lot of work to finally realize the fun. Some of the major jobs have included changing impellers in the two engines and the generator, fixing the two strainers for the AC and the generator, painting the aft deck, checking all saftey items and 100 other little jobs. I have been here a while and still have a lot to do. I have met a lot of nice people and we gather each day in front of the boaters lounge and visit for at least two hours after we get our work done for the day. I will try to keep up the posts and stay in touch.at least until the Admiral gets here. You see I am the Captain and Jan is the Admiral or as I like to put it she is the real Captain. Email us please. Signing off Tom.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN HOLDING YOUR BREATH JUST WAITING FOR ANOTHER BLOG YOU MAY BREATHE AGAIN FOR HERE WE GO ....THIS TIME I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS ALL THE JOBS THAT ARE AWAITING AT DEMOPOLIS ALA...I HAVE THEM DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS BECAUSE I THINK IT WILL TAKE THREE VISITS TO THE BOAT TO GET THEM ALL COMPLETED...ONE SET IN NOV...THE SECOND SET IN MARCH AND THE FINAL SET AFTER THE BOAT IS BACK IN THE WATER IN MAY...THAT IS THE THINKING AT THIS POINT ANYWAY..REMEMBER IT IS A LABOR OF LOVE..BUT IT ALSO IS VERY DEPENDENT ON THE WEATHER AS JOHN AND I FOUND OUT IN AUGUST... THE WEATHER AVERAGES ARE 67 AND 41 FOR HIGHS AND LOWS FOR NOV.....MAR 68 AND 43...MAY 83 AND 58......NOVEMBER SEES US FINISHING THE BOTTOM WORK ..CHANGING THE OIL AND FILTERS..DOING A LITTLE ANTIFREEZE WORK..CLEANING AND PREPING THE DINGHY..SETTING UP THE HEAT LAMP FOR THE ENGINE ROOM ALONG WITH A THERMOSTAT TO CONTROL IT..CHECK THE BATTERIES..THIS DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A VERY BIG LIST BUT ...IT IS....NEXT IN MARCH WE WILL WANT TO DO THE FOLLOWING ..CHECK THE ANCHOR AND VHF RADIO..TAKE THE HEAD PUMP OFF THE MASTER HEAD AND REPAIR OR REPLACE..REPLACE ALL 3 ZINCS IN THE ENGINES AND GENERATOR...DO THE SIDES OF THE BOAT BUFFING AND WAXING...THEN IN MAY.CHECK AIR CONDITIONERS AND IDLES.THEN FINALLY TRY TO GET THE SURGES UNDER CONTROL...THANX AGAIN FOR READING TOM

WHERE TO NEXT

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THINK AND DREAM AND INVESTIGATE THE NEXT TRIP...I ONCE HAD A GUY TELL ME YOU CAN NOT TAKE THESE TRIPS WITHOUT PLANNING FOR A YEAR...WELL PLANNING IS IMPORTANT BUT YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT NEED TO PLAN YOUR TRIPS FOR A YEAR......HAVE SOME OPTIONS AND EXPLORE THEM IN OH SO MANY WAYS...READING..SENDING FOR INFO..ATLAS..CAR..INTERNET..CHARTS...BOOKS...ETC....JUST THINKING OUT LOUDAND WITHOUT ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH THE REAL CAPTAIN...THE OBVIOS OPTIONS FOR THR NEXT TRIP WOULD INCLUDE.....THE BLACK WARRIOR RIVER FOR IT IS RIGHT WHERE THE BOAT IS AT DEMOPOLIS...IT SEEMS TO BE A REMOTE ADVENTURE THAT IS AT LEAST 130 MILES WITHOUT FUEL OR FOOD..IT IS ALSO SUPPOSED TO JUST BEAUTIFUL...BEING ON THE WATER IN YOUR BOAT ENJOYING A TRIP IS JUST BEAUTIFUL.....ALSO ON FURTHER DOWN THE TOMBIGBEE TOWARD MOBILE BAY IS THE ALABAMA RIVER IT IS SAID TO BE EVEN MORE REMOTE THAN THE BLACK WARRIOR....THE BLACK WARRIOR GOES UP TO BHAM AND THE ALABAMA GOES TO MONTGOMERY ...AS YOU GO UP THE BW YOU WILL PASS THRU THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIV OF ALA....THE THIRD OPTION IS TO EXPLORE A LITTLE OF MOBILE BAY...I SAY A LITTLE BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS IT HURRICANE SEASON WHEN WE WOULD BE DOING THIS BUT OUR INSURANCE INCREASES DRAMATICALLY WHEN WE ENTER THE WATERS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO.....TWO OTHER REMOTE OPTIONS WOULD BE TO GO TO MOBILE BAY AND HANG A LEFT ONTO THE INTERCOASTAL TOWARD FLA OR GANG RIGHT TOWARD NEW ORLEANS AND TEXAS......SOUNDS LIKE FUN AND JUST PLAIN OLD BOATING ADVENTURES .....STAY TUNED....... THANX...... TOM

NOT SO OBVIOUS ...BOATING ITEMS

I MAINTAIN TWO LISTS FOR OUR BOATING TRIPS ..THE LISTS ARE OF ITEMS TO TAKE TO THE BOAT FOR THE TRIP...ONE LIST IS THE DUH LIST THAT BEING ITEMS YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY TAKE...THE OTHER LIST IS ITEMS YOU MIGHT NOT THINK OF UNTIL YOU NEED THEM AND THEN IT IS TO LATE....SUCH ASSTAMPS AND ENVELOPES..A PHONE BOOK AND AN ATLAS...MAGNET.. SPRAYS FOR BUGS MOSQUITOS AND WASPS..CALENDAR..EXT CORDS..WATER SHOES..L SOAP..HEAD TO TOE FIRST AID SUPPLIES..GLOVES..NEEDLE AND THREAD.. ROPE..RUBBER BANDS.. FLASH LITES... BATTERIES AND A BATTERY PAC..CHARGERS...TWEEZERS AND CLIPPERS...THANK YOU FOR READING TOM

YOU WILL LIKE THIS..TOW LINGO

YOU WILL LOVE THIS...THE LANGUAGE OF BOATING AND OF RIVER BOATING IN PARTICULAR IS SOMETIMES MORE CONFUSING THAN IF YOU WOULD JUST SPIT IT OUT IN PLAIN OLD SIMPLE ENGLISH......IF YOU ARE MEETING A TOW COMING AT YOU ...YOU CALL HIM ON THE RADIO AND ASK HIM WHERE HE WANTS YOU TO PASS HIM...HE WILL SAY ON THE ONE WHISTLE... OR...HE WILL SAY ON THE TWO WHISTLE...THE ONE WHISTLE IS PORT TO PORT... THE TWO WHISTLE IS STARBOARD TO STARBOARD.....BELIEVE ME THERE ARE OCASSIONS FOR BOTH ..BUT COULD WE NOT MAKE IT A LITTLE HARDER....O.K......YOU GOT THAT NOW GET READY FOR THE OVERTAKING A TOW FROM BEHIND...CAPT WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO PASS YOU ...ON THE ONE WHISTLE OR THE TWO WHISTLE.....ONE BEING ON THE INSIDE AND TWO BEING ON THE OUTSIDE....CONFUSED...NOT ME...I HAVE IT WRITTEN ON MY HELM....ALONG WITH A KNOTS TO MPH COVERSION....AND AN EXPLANATION OF ...RED RIGHT RETURNING....WHICH MEANS IF YOU ARE GOING TOWARDS WHERE THE WATER CAME FROM OR ORIGINATED FROM...YOU ARE RETURNING...HENCE ...RE RIGHT RETURNING....OR ON THE OTHER HAND YOU ARE GOING AWAY FROM THE ORIGIN OR YOU ARE GOING WITH THE CURRENT...THE RED WOULD BE ON YOUR ...LEFT...NOW IS THAT NOT SPECIAL....SO MUCH FOR THE EASY STUFF THANX FOR READING...TOM